"I didn't see that on TV."

"The government must be controlling the press. Our field agents said that they could have been shot at the scene. Police tried to stop protestors with tear gas, and began shooting when the situation got more violent."

"I guess the civilian protestors will be armed soon."

It was illegal to possess firearms in Kazakhstan, but this was not forced on people since any nomad had a hunting gun to protect their livestock. Without the guns, it was impossible to chase away wolves and foxes. Also, nomadic people usually liked to keep their outdated hunting guns on their wall as decoration even if they were not raising livestock anymore, so if they wanted to, they could be armed in a second.

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"Did they take pictures of the scene?"

"They even videotaped it."

"Those fools should've kept their firearms to themselves. This will ruin the current government for good."

The clip that Jong-il showed fallen and bleeding citizens in detail.

If the video was revealed to the public, the big greedy old president would no longer be able to keep his seat. This was an incident that was exactly discussed in the recently revealed discussion at the president's office.

"How are the protesters?"

"Of course, they're upset. At this rate, they'll soon come out with their rifles from their home."

"How about the movement of the northern cities?"

"They're quite shaken by the shooting in Almaty. People are crowding in bars now unlike before."

"I guess a martial law will be declared soon. If the president finds out that the second daughter's house was robbed too, he will make an irrational decision."

"He already knows. All of the buildings in Astana are already being searched by the police."

"Nothing caught in the eavesdropping?"

"I think they now know that someone's eavesdropping on them. They're keeping it quiet."

"They'll probably suspect the Chinese or the Russian Emba.s.sy."

A situation like this was bound to happen anyway.

Whether or not the autonomous state was ready, the situation was now uncontrollable. The fast way to get through this was to face it. Youngho had to make the military on his side since the martial law might get declared soon.

If the field grade officers or frontline officers protested against the martial law, generals would not be able to push the law on them.

First, Youngho called Victor Jun from the Navy to have an emergency meeting.

"The situation is getting worse and worse. The martial law will be declared soon according to a source."

"If that's true, there could be a civil war. n.o.body will follow the current president for it. The military won't cooperate, of course."

"How would the military ignore the order from the higher power?"

"I've met some army officers who were very disappointed by the current government. They were furious by the fact that the president and his family committed fraud."

"But, they're not going to act individually, are they?"

"I explained that the future of Kazakhstan depends on the autonomous state. They wanted to communicate with you. They're very curious about the lives of the residents here."

"Tell them that I'll be available at any time. I can show them everything about our state."

***

Nine field grade officers of the Navy and Army visited the state with Victor Jun.

Since they should not be noticeable by the government, they were all in plain clothes.

"I wholeheartedly welcome you for visiting the Arirang Autonomous State."

"It's an honor to meet you, the famous Duke of the Arirang."

"Oh, that's only a t.i.tle."

"This is a great place as we imagined. Not anyone can create rich soil out of deserted land. That is something to be praised for."

"This is too good for me. Who'd give land to a stranger? I'm just grateful for the residents who worked to make the state a better living environment."

"We wanted to meet you since we've heard that you work hard for the future of Kazakhstan. The current situation is so grim that we are also facing difficulties."

"I only have a small state, and I don't have a grand vision for the country. I just want to have a safe and harmonious environment for all Kazakh people and the residents of our state. I want to help make that happen in Kazakhstan with the small power we have in the autonomous state."

"You've attracted so many foreign investments to our country. It's a shame that all Kazakhstan has to give you is this. We apologize for our president's behaviors."

Youngho was impressed by the officers' att.i.tude. They were apologizing for the president's wrongdoings even though they were not responsible for them. This showed that they were genuinely patriotic people who cared for the country and people.

"I'm glad to meet people who still cared for Kazakhstan."

"We heard that you have power. Would you just watch this happen?"

"I have economic means, but I'm not in the position to interfere with the central government."

"When Kazahstan is divided, the future of the autonomous state is uncertain."

"I can't help it, can I? I have no political foundation here whatsoever. I'm still a mere foreigner."

"What if you had a support base?"

Finally, the word that Youngho was waiting for came out of one of the officers' mouth. It was not plausible if he mentioned it first since it could be seen as him being greedy for power, so he kept swallowing the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"I fear that Russia and China might take advantage of this situation to take over Kazakhstan. I'm trying to reinforce our force because of that. I have no other intentions."

"We're very fortunate that we have someone like you. If we joined our force together, can you help us?"

"What is your goal for joining your forces?"

"It's for the future of Kazakhstan. Would you be our pivotal figure?"

The Army lieutenant colonel who just spoke out was Kabak who was in his forties. He looked like a typical soldier.

"I don't think you're saying you're going to seize power. When I step up, people will think that I've encouraged you to act."

"We only think that someone like you could lead a lot of officers."

"We may be misunderstood as a subversive force for the country."

Everyone flinched at this point.

It was something that everyone had in their heart, but no one dared to say it out loud. It was already suspicious when the military's high-ranking officers were gathered together in the midst of a national crisis without a command given.

"Our only concern is the interest of Kazakhstan. There is no future for our country at this rate. Please accept our cause."

"Are you confident that you will take what we discussed today to your grave?"

"We wouldn't have come here without such determination in the first place."

"I wonder why you decided to take me as your pivotal center."

"The Koryoins in Kazakhstan are diligent and smart. They have credibility. Likewise, you share the same nationality as them, and you have devoted yourself to Kazakhstan. You took care of the needy like their your own family. No more words are needed to describe why you are the right person."

"You have to keep in mind that Kazakhstan can be divided into pieces. We might have to shed our blood to fight different powers of the split nation."

"Duke, we are aware of that. Kazakhstan is home to more than 120 ethnic groups, but we've lived in harmony. It's not because we had a great leader. It's rather because we've been living like this for thousands of years. Sometimes they split up and they regroup. If the country were to split up, we wouldn't be in a hurry. It's going to come back together someday."

It seemed that people of Kazakhstan did not indulge in small things.

In Kazakhstan, only the people of Kazakhstan existed, and race or ethnicity was only a member of a large vessel. Youngho was touched by his words.

***

Protests were taking place day after day in Almaty, but it did not look so disorderly nonetheless. The protest site was confined to the former presidential palace now. Except for that, the city was still functioning the same.

Foreign buyers were still remaining in the big city where one-tenth of Kazakhstan's total population lived.

"They're not afraid of the cops shooting at them, are they?"

"They must think that the cops won't shoot a foreigner. So, they're wearing a tie as a sign that they're not protesters."

"That's such a weird sight. People are dying on one hand, and other people are making money."

"Why do you think that the protesters are only around the palace?"

"I think the Presidential Palace has a symbolic meaning. They seem to think that the president's authority will fall to the ground the moment the palace is taken by them. I'm sure the protesters think they have to get ahead of it to win. By the way, can you explain about the person I'm supposed to meet today? Is he trustworthy?"

"I have no idea. He's just begging to meet us to ask for medical support."

"We need to think about the safety of our medical staff. I mean, if the rumor was spread that we're helping the protesters, we might get in big trouble."

"How long are you going to crawl under the president's power? It's time for us to take the lead. In the worst-case scenario, we'll get all the residents out of Kazakhstan. What's the matter with you? It's not like you don't have money to do this?"

"It's easy to talk. The residents will not want to leave the place where they poured their sweat and blood."

"I'm only saying that we should be determined. We can make anyone on our side even if we have to bribe them."

"I don't need any corrupt group. They're no use. We need decent people like the soldiers who came to the state."

The person whom Youngho was supposed to meet today was the leader of an anti-government protester group.

A local intelligence agent who acted as a foreign reporter approached the protest site and made his acquaintance.

The protesters had requested patient treatment and funding for their demonstration.

Youngho set aside the northern cities, but he did not want to miss Almaty in the south, so he decided to meet the leader.

Almaty was the largest city and the center of economic culture in Central Asia. It was also a strategic point bordering Kyrgyzstan. It had a large population too. Even if Kazakhstan was to split in half, Almaty should be saved because of its population. Aside from the economically active population, there were not enough people to recruit as soldiers—who were the backbone of the nation's defense capabilities.

Almaty—an important city—was at the forefront of the anti-government protests.

Youngho had been watching the protestors closely through the state's intelligent agents, so he was more than happy to hear from the head of the protestors who wanted to meet him. If he seemed to be a reasonable person, he would support him and the protestor group fully. It was also good to see that there were people in Kazakhstan who were well conscious, and it was also encouraging that they asked for help from the Arirang Autonomous State. He was also very curious about what purpose the protestor group had.